


As the Shadows Show

by cyaninja



Category: Naruto
Genre: Akatsuki!Kakashi, Almost a Fix-It, M/M, Mutual Pining, but not everyone can be happy in this absurd reality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-04-29 21:30:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14481582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyaninja/pseuds/cyaninja
Summary: Obito is ready to change the world. Having been the secret leader of the Akatsuki for years, things are finally looking pretty good for the plan. He's had Kakashi by his side though most of it and with their careful plans, nothing could go wrong.At least that's what he thought.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there!
> 
> I've always thought that Kakashi should've tried the dark side instead of becoming a jōnin teacher and this story is basically my take on that concept. I'm aiming for a fix-it but as we all know, things aren't always simple and making some seriously horrible choices is Obito's job. I'd also like to thank [2livenlove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/2livenlove/pseuds/AngelCake) for being the best beta reader and putting a lot time and effort into improving the overall quality of this story! <3
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

It was raining heavier than usual. Summers never treated Ame well and this one was no exception. The village seemed as dreadful as always – at least to outsiders – though Hanzō of the Salamander had been dead for years now. His demise was a well-kept secret among the community and many villagers chose to believe that the current state of Ame was all thanks to some powers beyond human comprehension.

This, of course, was not the case at all.

Superstitions, urban legends and other irrational beliefs were common in places like Ame. The village was still poor and wartorn despite the new leaders having been  in charge for over a decade. More than that, Ame was isolated and no outsiders were allowed to step inside, so common misunderstandings weren't corrected. In other words, the village was an ideal base location for Akatsuki. Perhaps abusing those unfortunate factors was a bit morally ambiguous. That was what a few members of the organization kept saying but there wasn't a point in risking a perfect setup in order to enlighten the average civilians who had no reason to know what was going on. Akatsuki was aiming for peace and the best way to achieve their goals was to work behind the scenes without any unnecessary interference. Things always got complicated when too many people were involved.

”Our plan has finally come to fruition,” it was Madara's voice. The old trash bag had possessed a wicked sense of drama if nothing else. ”Kakuzu has defeated the immortal brat of Yugakure.”

Zetsu had provided this information a bit earlier to Obito but Nagato needed to be kept on a string and it was a task Obito wanted to perform alone just in case. Besides, trusting a plant seemed like a bad idea.

”Can we trust him?” Konan asked, face as stoic and dispassionate as ever.

”That’s an interesting choice of words,” Obito commented because Madara had always been an insufferable nitpicker. Konan of all people should've known that nobody could be trusted. But then again, the lazy wording could be explained by the fact that these conversations were simply unpleasant. Sometimes it seemed that Konan tried to minimize the number of words used in a conversation which was amusing. Maybe it was her way to avoid slips of the tongue or perhaps it was just a habit common in Ame. Either way, she certainly couldn't be trusted.

”So far all of our members have served the organization well,” oh, if it wasn't the sweet, pale voice of a dead man talking.

Despite being present, it was always the corpse who spoke instead of Nagato. He still held the idea of comradery so dear that he used the body of his deceased friend as an icon for Akatsuki's ideals.

”Ah, indeed,” portraying Madara was getting enjoyable again. Obito had heard that his fondness for being Madara had grown out of control lately. But who could blame him? Even the possessor of the Rinnegan was ready to suck up to the person in front of him merely because of the name.

”So far,” Konan repeated Nagato's words with a flat tone.

”I am confident our newest member will perform well. Making him join wasn't an easy task as he does have a short temper and certainly some interesting beliefs. However, these side notions are insignificant. The boy isn't as weak-minded as he seems and he knows what is best for him. He’ll fall in line like the rest of them,” Obito decided that it was time to give a proper answer to Konan's original question since her concerns were more or less valid.

Recruiting new people was always an uncertain process.

Every member was carefully selected based on their skills and their compatibility but personal beliefs were dismissed. They were watched before being approached and asked to join. That was what made Akatsuki just a group of missing-nin who had nothing in common except the status of being considered a serious threat. New members were never asked if they shared goals with Akatsuki's higher-ups. They either joined or died and so far no one had chosen the last option. Rogues had no honor left anyway and therefore they hadn't many reasons to pretend that ideas mattered more than lives. Finding a group was the best option for such misfits though they were usually too proud to admit it.

”How do we proceed?” the question Obito had been waiting for was asked finally.

Gathering troops and making arrangements had been a long process but Akatsuki was ready to make their first move. Waiting any longer would serve no purpose. Sure, one could argue that there were still a couple of issues to be resolved but they were hardly matters that concerned anyone but Obito himself and his partner.

Kakashi was currently unaware of Obito's latest plans but he'd find out soon enough.

”We're ready to move forward and send a team to Suna,” Obito said. ”Sasori and Deidara can do the job.”

”Are they the best possible team for a mission like this?” Konan was apparently questioning every single detail but perhaps this was yet another valid point. Sasori did have a history with Suna but so far nothing had implied that his good old days in the village would be a problem.

”Sasori knows the desert and Deidara is capable of taking care of the village's defenses. In other words, they are very capable of executing the task well and without any backlashes,” actually, Obito had no idea how things would turn out in Suna but it hardly mattered since Madara knew.

He had known everything.

Or maybe he had been just as pretentious as Obito was. That was a possibility but such petty details hardly mattered. Madara was dead and perhaps he was going to stay that way. With a little bit of creativity, Obito could ensure that. There were, of course, obstacles he needed to overcome but first Akatsuki needed to get some work done.

”I'll make sure to inform them,” and again, it was the corpse doing the talking.

Obito glanced at the clouded sky. He was wearing his orange mask, the one Kakashi hated the most, but even having his face fully covered didn't provide much protection against the air of Ame. It was just beyond filthy despite the endless rain and artificial purifiers.

There wasn't really much left to say.

”You do that. While you're at it, tell Kakuzu to start moving towards Kumo with our newest member and keep an eye out for the jinchūriki of Two-Tails.”

”When shall we meet?”

”In an hour. I have personal matters to take care of before that,” well, actually there wasn't anything too important ahead but Obito had decided to inform Kakashi beforehand.

Kakashi wasn't going to take the news well. Obito didn't call him a killjoy for nothing.

”Understood.”

”Good. Goodbye until then,” Obito took a last glance at the sky before letting Kamui swirl him away.  
Getting out of Ame was always relieving.

Kakashi had been waiting patiently. He sat on a tree branch reading a book. Obito had never understood Jiraiya's perverted crap but Kakashi dismissed every question regarding that trash and kept insisting that Jiraiya had a way with words.

”Senpai,” Obito chirped. He had always liked playing this role even though Madara had a certain charm.

”Tobi,” Kakashi greeted back barely glancing at Obito. ”You're late,” he and his stick in the ass were indeed good partners for a carefree, slightly brain-damaged tramp. That was pretty much what Obito pictured his second personality to be despite Kakashi claiming that Tobi's history still seemed overly vague and that amnesia wasn't a good excuse to act stupid.

But he was a killjoy, so his opinion didn't count.

”Am I?” Obito aimed for an innocent tone. ”But I have a very juicy secret for you!”

Kakashi raised his brow.

”Well, maybe we should talk in private,” he suggested.

”Yeah, totally! I know a very good secret place,” talking in public was a way too risky which was why Obito needed to bring up the secret place pretty often but despite that bullshit getting old, no one seemed to be too interested in Tobi's secrets.

No matter what Kakashi thought, this alias was working well.

Kakashi jumped down next to Obito. Their current spot was selected carefully since using Kamui was also a risky move out in public and Obito usually avoided that.  
However, there were ears everywhere, so keeping that in mind was necessary.

The spot they were standing was still good enough. It was out of the line of sight unless there was a Byakugan user nearby and that was unlikely considering the fact that the Hyūga clan avoided the outskirts of Kumo.

Kamui's dimension was the only place in the world where speaking in private was truly possible. Technically speaking, only two people had access to it and Kakashi's ability to utilize the power of his Mangekyō was questionable at best.

”So?” Kakashi asked as they entered. He had heard the conversation with Zetsu, so it was safe to assume that he knew to expect something. Sugarcoating the news would be useless.

”We're sending Sasori and Deidara to Suna,” Obito declared. ”To capture the One-Tail.”

Kakashi seemed thoughtful, almost concerned but at least he wasn't calling Obito impatient yet. In fact, the announcement was taken surprisingly well.

”Do you think our timing is good?”

”Akatsuki has completed multiple high profile missions lately,” Obito pointed out. ”Capturing the first jinchūriki right now will be regarded as another mission that someone paid Akatsuki to do.”

”I guess you're right,” Kakashi said after thinking about it for a while. ”And if we proceed carefully enough, it will take some time before the villages notice that jinchūriki have disappeared. It's really all about our timings.”

”So, what's the problem?” Obito asked just in case. Kakashi had been always the type to find flaws in every concept to the point it was actually amazing how he ever managed to accomplish anything. He probably planned his toilet trips ahead.

But such a person was needed occasionally and during all the years spent together, Obito had learned to appreciate the intolerable bastard. They were usually a solid team even though their views rarely came together and there were even times when calling Kakashi a friend didn't seem too inaccurate.

”Nothing.”

”Bullshit,” Obito said. ”You know, sometimes it seems you're not very interested in working for our plan,” he added cheerfully just to make sure that Kakashi knew how little his betrayal would surprise him.

”You know what I think about it,” Kakashi's voice was calm. He had never exactly hidden his doubts. ”But that hasn't ever stopped me from working for it, has it?”

”You're not wrong,” Obito admitted. ”A lazy, half-hearted effort is better than nothing.”

”Maa, now you're just being mean for no reason,” Kakashi stated. ”Not everyone can be as passionate as you are. But that's beside the point. You know exactly what the real problem is and we still have no idea how to fix it.”

”But I do have a plan, Bakashi,” Obito protested. He really did. It just had several problems and it was pretty bad.

Claiming that Obito had no idea what to do was simply a lie though admittedly improvising wasn't the way to go in this particular situation.

Obito knew that something was wrong with his heart and confirming those well grounded doubts was going to be dangerous. He didn’t want to risk it by letting some standard medic do the job since this was all thanks to Madara. Only few people had any understanding regarding juinjutsu in the first place. On the top of it all, everything Obito knew himself was based more on educated guesses than actual knowledge. That was why he needed a skilled expert to evaluate the situation and then likely to perform a heart transplantation surgery.

It sounded so easy, yet it wasn’t.

Lady Tsunade was awfully stealthy for a Senju. With the amount of chakra she possessed, it should've made locating her relatively easy once they got close enough. But there weren't any signs of her despite Kakashi and Obito looking around which meant that the whole search operation had been a massive disaster, perhaps an actual failure. Some people were just good at disappearing.

On the other hand, Obito wasn't really one to judge. 

When Akatsuki wanted to find someone, they always did. Unfortunately, those resources couldn't be taken advantage of this time. The last thing Obito wanted was to draw Zetsu's attention which made the search rather challenging. However, lady Tsunade would be found sooner or later. It was just a matter of patience.

”You don't have a donor,” Kakashi pointed out, dryly.

”There are plenty enough potential Uchihas for that,” Obito stated. ”And if push comes to shove, anyone will do. Though, I must say that there's one clan member we have to deal with before sending Nagato after Nine-Tails.”

Kakashi sighed. He knew that Shisui Uchiha was one of the very few potentially dangerous factors but he had never agreed with the way Obito was going to handle him.

But Shisui was going to be a nuisance for sure. Not only was he one of the very few wielders of Mangekyō but he was also the teacher of the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. In other words, capturing the last jinchūriki was going to be a real pain in the ass if Shisui wasn't taken care of first. The advantage of the morally debatable approach was that Obito would get a new heart and Nagato wouldn't have to deal with one of the most powerful Uchihas. It was a clear win-win.

And to be fair, the only advantage Obito had over Shisui was one particular technique Madara had taught him and the fact that no one besides Kakashi was even aware that he was still alive. Taking Shisui by surprise was absolutely Obito’s best shot.

”What about Zetsu?” Kakashi asked.

”As far as I can tell, it's sealable,” Obito said. He had to admit that Kakashi did have a fair point. Zetsu was the major reason why conversations like these were to be had in Kamui's dimension in the first place. ”Maybe even killable.”

If it wasn't for Kakashi, Obito would've never even questioned certain things, one of them being Zetsu's role and its motives. They hadn't spoken the biggest taboo in years, in fact, they probably never would but sometimes Obito couldn't help but wonder if he was the one who had been always the worst part of this absurd reality. According to Kakashi it was suspicious that Madara’s servants had suddenly decided to help Obito to escape the cave he had been trapped in for months.

But the day Guruguru had led Obito out of the cave was simply a topic that Kakashi shouldn’t have mentioned. It had been talked through once which was enough.

It still hurt.

Besides, it wasn’t like Obito was going to stay loyal to Madara anyway.

”We still need to figure out how exactly Madara created it,” Kakashi said. ”Then it will be easier to determine how to erase it for good.”

”I'm working on it.”

”Basically, you've started pure madness without any specific ways to deal with your worst obstructions,” to Kakashi's credit, the insult deserved.

”Alright, maybe we could've waited a bit longer,” Obito snapped. ”But if you want to wait until everything is perfect, you're going to wait for an eternity. Besides, it's too late to turn back now. I've already told Nagato our next move and given him orders to make an announcement.”

”We're talking about Madara's plan,” Kakashi deadpanned. ”All I'm saying is that you're on thin ice.”

Obito wasn't – nor had he ever been – naïve enough to think that betraying Madara wasn't going to backfire in one way or another. Maybe one of the saddest little details in this pitch black hell was that, out of all people, he still trusted in Kakashi more than anyone and whatever was between them was hardly trust. Mutual respect could've been a bit better term to define their questionable friendship. While Obito acknowledged how irreplaceable Kakashi's insightful way of thinking was, Kakashi seemed to accept Obito's position and the fact that it was Obito who made the decisions when it came to the plan.

Kakashi sighed deeply to admit his loss.

”It's going to be fine,” Obito mumbled more to himself than to Kakashi. ”We'd need to improvise a bit anyway.”

”I'm kind of curious what has made you rush and speed things up so much lately,” Kakashi was probably implying something and trying to be subtle about it but Obito didn't want to contemplate it. ”It almost seems like you want to fail but that's not it, is it?”

”You've always said I'm impatient,” Obito stated, blankly.

”Not when it comes  to the plan,” Kakashi argued. ”At least not to this extent,” he corrected as Obito arched a brow.

”What, are you going to stop me?” Obito asked but to be honest, he had stopped caring about loyalty a long time ago. Kakashi could betray Akatsuki all he wanted. He knew how to be a headache, sure, but Obito was pretty positive that he could handle Kakashi. Borrowed power was nothing compared to the real deal and Kakashi probably knew it, too.

”No, of course not,” Kakashi claimed. ”I'm just pointing out issues you should've thought of, so you have at least a chance to decide whether you'd like to do something about them or not.”

”Well, fuck me for thinking that you're up to something when you're clearly just spewing shit out of goodness of your heart” Obito didn't hide the slight sarcasm in his voice. Yes, Kakashi had always been to type to correct others and pinpoint their mistakes and flaws. However, Obito certainly wasn’t the only one to act strangely. ”You want me to call the plan off, don't you?”

”Actually, no,” Kakashi said. ”You're right about many things. The system needs to be replaced. I just prefer Nagato's plan over Madara's.”

”Bakashi,” Obito hated to repeat himself. ”Individualism is the real problem here. Everyone wants different solutions and outcomes. The only way guarantee everyone gets what they desire is to separate all individual minds from each other,” he had explained the same points over and over again a way too many times.

Those who wanted peace were going to get it. But there would always be rowdy, naturally hostile individuals who yearned to be perceived as heroes and that wasn't possible without a conflict. Some just craved recognition and no matter how perfect the world was, there would always be those who had a fundamental need to challenge it.

But in the new world, they could do so without causing any harm. No one needed to suffer.

It seemed reasonable enough.

”Maybe so,” Kakashi admitted. ”But Madara's plan has always seemed a bit too extreme to me. It is hardly a truly idealistic solution,” he stressed that ‘Madara’ part a lot, a bit too much for Obito's taste.

”Madara hasn't done shit for it.”

”Possibly not,” Kakashi implied though he should've known better than that.

”Stop.”

”Not saying it aloud won't change a thing,” Kakashi said but he was kind enough to drop the conversation. ”All I'm saying is that giving Nagato's plan a shot before aiming for another solution won't do any harm.”

”Perhaps you're right,” Obito admitted. ”However, he and Konan are factors that need to be taken into account. They're up to something.”

”We'll find a way to deal with them,” Kakashi assured. ”Neither of them is invisible. We'll take care of them after the Nine-Tails has been captured. Are you still going to trust that mission to Nagato and Konan?”

”They'll deal with the brat, while we deal with our old sensei,” Obito said. Very few people actually knew that the Nine-Tails was split into two. There were only four people who knew, two of them being the jinchūrikis of the halves. ”It's a wonder he hasn't still figured out who I am. But then again, he never did care too much about his obligations.”

”He ended the war, though,” Kakashi reminded.

”A failure is still a failure, no matter how small it is,” Obito stated. He didn't feel a particular need to be fair though maybe personal feelings shouldn't have carried weight anymore.

”Such a harsh way to put it,” Kakashi commented, careful not to push it too far.

”Is it?”

It was Kakashi's turn to shrug.

”Changing the system isn't always that easy, especially not when it's born rotten” he finally said. ”But yes, it's true. Sensei hasn't achieved much lately and he probably won't.”

”That's what happens to everyone,” Obito wasn't really listening to his empty words. ”People will talk a lot but they limit themselves based on other people's conflicting expectations. Kages don't have real power, they're just pretentious liars.  The sad part is, the position is handed over to those who have the potential to accomplish something,  but the councils ensure they can keep them on a tight leash, so no one actually changes anything. They're pitiful,” he spat out the last words.

Kakashi had been listening silently. He nodded after a while which suggested that this time he had been actually paying attention to Obito's ramblings which rarely happened.

”We'll make sure that they will be put in their rightful places,” Kakashi agreed.

”Yeah. We should pay a visit to Kiri some time,” Obito said. ”Just in case.”

”Maa, I wouldn't bother,” Kakashi stated. ”Unless there's a particular reason for that,” it wasn't a question.

”Keeping a jinchūriki and a Tailed-Beast under a genjutsu at the same time is risky,” Obito mumbled. ”I would hate for him to break free. It would be a disaster, a very unbeneficial one.”

”But it's your genjutsu,” Kakashi maintained.

”Are you complimenting me?” Obito was almost curious suddenly. He hadn't heard anything so flattering in a while which was both worrying and amusing. Kakashi hadn't been ever a good sweet talker but him trying was actually hilarious.

”No, I'm just laying out the facts,” Kakashi replied cheerfully. ”And I think you should prioritize your worries differently,” he added a new insult which was probably a good sign. After all, slight rudeness and consistent nitpicking was the most usual combination and therefore easy to deal with.

Though predictability was boring.

”Lord Fourth hasn't been that well lately,” Obito reminded. ”I'd hate to lose him now.”

”That's because you take such poor care of your pet,” Kakashi continued with the nitpicking. ”When was the last time you even fed him?”

”Bakashi, you're hurting my feelings,” Obito claimed, surprised that he actually managed not to laugh. ”Not feeding a pet doesn't make anyone a poor owner.”

Having the jinchūriki physically weakened made controlling him and the beast a bit easier.

”Well, maybe not in this case,” Kakashi admitted. ”The less it shits itself, the better.”

A stifled laugh escaped Obito's lips.

”Right you are.”

Working with an untrustworthy comrade wasn't always that pleasant but there were still some sparks in the dark. At least Kakashi had developed a sense of humor which was without a doubt the only reason why he hadn't driven Obito completely insane.

Perhaps it was a road that went both ways. Tolerating people was manageable when they could make you laugh from time to time. There were even days when Obito was in a good enough mood to think that maybe some trust had been built during all these years spent hiding in shadows together. He'd probably never stop wondering what had made Kakashi stick around for so long. That bastard had never seemed the type to go against the teachings that were force-fed to every shinobi brat.

Kakashi certainly didn't approve what Akatsuki did, nor was he actually showing any signs of wanting a change to happen. He could've served Konoha all along without Obito knowing or caring. Such thoughts had lost their meaning after enough time had passed. Kakashi had burned all his bridges  a long time ago and couldn’t go back even if he wanted to. His name was already in the Bingo Books and his head had a huge price tag. Traitors like that didn’t get to go back even if they wanted to.

Accepting ugly truths gave a certain peace of mind which was why thinking one's motives through and through was simply counterproductive, especially for those who were supposed to be dead.

Obito had to stop thinking about such foolish things. He had only one mission left in this world and it certainly wasn’t to ponder what kind of life Kakashi could’ve lived without convenient coincidences.

Still, suppressing those childish questions wasn’t easy.

Obito couldn't tell whether he was happy to have a little piece of the past following him around or annoyed that such a relationship prevented him from abandoning the identity he was supposed to have no more.

Kakashi had never been a part of Madara's original plan which Zetsu brought up often enough to keep Obito on his toes.

The truth was that despite not trusting Kakashi, Obito did care for him as a valuable member for Akatsuki and perhaps he was Obito's best chance to guarantee that Madara would stay dead.

The agreement on that hadn't been born overnight. It had been a faint idea at first.

Neither of them could pinpoint the exact moment when keeping Madara dead for good had been decided but thankfully, it was a plan they could both agree on.

Despite all the doubts, Obito wasn't entirely too detached from reality. He had a few theories why Kakashi had made a choice that seemed to conflict his basic nature which was unmotivated and outright against being a driving force for change.

First of all, Konoha had never been too kind to those whose parents were considered traitors and Kakashi's father had been on the borderline of that despite serving the village and committing suicide oh-so-honorably. In the end, it had been Kakashi's own talent that had carried him far, any other kid in the same position would've been plain miserable.

Another reason Obito could think of was that Kakashi had been always a bit empty. There were people who could be described as a blank canvas and that's what Kakashi had always been. But instead of being a paintable picture, Kakashi was this weird surface that simply refused to absorb colors. Kakashi had chosen his side simply because when the time came to make a choice, Konoha hadn't managed to appear as an appealing option.

Or maybe Kakashi really cared in some way, that was also somewhat possible even though a bit unlikely. Every shinobi knew the people around them would either die or turn out to be backstabbers and that was the very reason why caring was such a dangerous thing to do in the first place. Having feelings usually resulted in disappointments.

Kakashi was smart enough to know it already.

Pointing out the obvious would've been useless.

But sometimes the thought itself was bothersome, like a nasty blister on one's heel.

Was it that he cared, too?

It was possible given how Obito had Kakashi’s back on the missions they completed for Akatsuki. He felt a sudden chill every time Zetsu reminded him that Kakashi wasn’t a part of Madara’s plan and he got a cold sweat whenever something implied that Kakashi’s life was in danger. In fact, a part of Obito hoped to find a way to exclude Kakashi to keep him out of the worst. Yet, here they were, planning to betray Madara together which was a death wish for both of them.

Kakashi was stubborn and maybe accepting his help had been a mistake. He wasn’t that suicidal but he was pretty unconcerned about his own life. That didn’t sit really well with Obito’s stupid fundamental need to keep him safe.

Obito preferred just not to think about it often. This pitch black hell wasn't the right place to ponder personal matters.

Perhaps Kakashi wasn't all wrong when he said that Obito had grown impatient. After all, starting the plan had taken years and Obito did find himself longing for a new, better world already. It was selfish which Obito was willing to admit. He stopped himself from finding a pathetic excuse to that.

The plan was to serve everyone.

_To serve._

”Maybe we don't need to find lady Tsunade,” Obito said slowly, testing the idea. At least it would be a good enough backup plan if nothing else worked.

”Oh?”

”We'll find Shikkotsu Forest.”

”It's not easy to find either,” Kakashi stated. ”But it could work.”

”It will work,” Obito corrected. ”There's no need to chase anyone when you can just make them turn around and come to you. It's a simple basic strategy. Actually, you should've realized it ages ago.”

Kakashi rolled his eye – eyes probably, the other one being covered – and sighed but he didn't bother to comment. As usual, he wasn't feeling like using his brain which was a shame. Sometimes he even showed signs of having one.

”Lady Tsunade has been on the move for many years,” Kakashi maintained. ”She has no use for Shikkotsu Forest anymore.”

”That's not how people function,” Obito countered. ”Summoning creatures forms a somewhat special bond always,” he couldn't believe that this sort of information needed to be said aloud. Kakashi out of all people should've known it already. He would've died for his stupid mutts anytime. Probably. But then again, maybe Kakashi thought that his dogs were special and that other people bonded only with people and therefore didn't need to feel attached to other creatures.

Or since it was Bakashi, there was possibly no thought behind the logic. He had never been interested in understanding others despite acknowledging how crucial doing so was. Instead of trying, he trusted Obito to do the job.

Actually, that was smart given how awful Kakashi's people skills were.

”Interesting thought,” Kakashi commented after deciding to use his brain finally. ”But it's not an optimal approach.”

”What is then?”

”I'm not sure,” Kakashi admitted. ”Something that doesn't involve finding places only a few people have ever found.”

Fair point.

But a plan was needed and finding that damn forest was still the only one they had.

”That's hardly an answer,” Obito complained.

”There are other medics.”

”Yeah, it's just my life and a forbidden technique we're talking about,” Obito wasn't really impressed.

”Which is why you need a cohesive plan instead of sheer stupidity.”

”You're going to help, right?”

”Don't I always?”

”I guess,” Obito replied. He couldn't claim otherwise because the fact was that Kakashi did help though usually with gritted teeth.

For a while it seemed that Kakashi was about to continue with his nitpicking but he ended up sighing deeply and sulking. It was a habit that always made Obito feel something really unpleasant pouring down his throat and tightening his chest but he had learned to ignore it. It wasn't exactly anger since it was way too cold to be that but it was pretty close to it.

But personal feelings couldn't matter.

Not until this distortion of reality had been replaced.

In a perfect world Kakashi would be a real ally, maybe even a friend instead of that pitiful imposter. He would be the person he was meant to be; someone whose concern had to be earned instead of him pretending to possess such an emotion out of mere regret.

Kakashi being an obedient lapdog wishing to bite the hand that fed it was beyond pathetic.

But soon enough the world would look different. And then, finally, after all of these years enduring the pain of being bound to the nightmare, everything would be okay. The preparations to complete the plan had begun and it couldn't be too much longer until Nagato announced the news to Akatsuki. A few little problems needed to be solved but overcoming them wasn't entirely impossible.

Obito had always trusted in improvising, and despite being a dry prick, Kakashi was a talented improviser as well. He wasn't going to betray Obito before he had made sure that Madara was going to stay in his grave.

Yes, soon this world would be replaced with a new, better one and maybe then Kakashi would see the point. Then he'd live the life he was supposed to have in Konoha alongside with Minato and Kushina, maybe even discover happiness in such optimal conditions.

And Rin would be there.

She'd hate to see what Obito and Kakashi had become but in a perfect world, she'd forgive them. She had never been the type to hold a grudge, unlike Kakashi and Obito. Unfortunately, people like that always ended up dead before they had a real chance to leave an imprint.

And when Nagato's voice spoke finally through the rings and announced that Akatsuki was ready to move on and start capturing the tailed beasts, Obito felt certainty for the first time in years.

Kakashi's expression was blank the whole time.

But he'd get it when the plan was completed. He'd rule alongside Obito since he did have the pair for the Sharingan anyway.

”It will be perfect, Bakashi,” Obito convinced as Kakashi blinked.

The rebuilding had begun.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for a new update, yay! This time we're looking things from Kakashi's point of view.

It wasn't a secret that the shinobi system had its flaws. Perhaps founding Konoha had been a progressive move back in the day but the village had failed to change enough over time. And sadly, Konoha had always been a trendsetter for the other villages. Now nations were competing against each other at the expense of real human lives. All because the concept Konoha had established when people began to question why they were consistently being asked to put their lives at risk.

_You must think about your village_ , was the general message. Kages, elders and even the daimyōs had insisted upon this concept and eventually those who were directly in contact with them had begun to teach the same lesson.

It was an efficient way to convince the people since every shinobi wanted justification for their debatable actions during times of war and conflict.

”You carry the Will of Fire,” it was the catchphrase Konoha had made the highest of compliments in a relatively short time period.

Those who saw through all the propaganda and chose to follow their own path were considered the worst kind of traitors. Perhaps in some sense, they were the worst because the villages had expected to gain a profit from raising their children to be perfect killers. 

Kakashi found it curious, because on the other hand, those who questioned nothing were seen as the heroes. They, of course, did just fine in their personal lives and were promoted to positions of power. And they would still decide that the same old show would go on. After all, the best slaves were the ones who didn't realize what they truly were.

Kakashi could've easily been a puppet for the system. He hadn't had any passion for pushing for any changes and he had been glad to overlook each time he’d witnessed the system failed. Hells, he had been a perfect candidate for representing Konoha's might by simply being promoted at a really young age and from his reputation of being a prodigy. A life supporting this system would've been an easy one to live.

Admittedly, it was hard to hide in the shadows while still carrying the burden of his past reputation. The bright side was that this arrangement was perfect for Obito who needed to stay as invisible as he could. Having a partner like Kakashi made sure that nobody even bothered to take a second glance at someone who appeared to be just an unknown rookie.

Otherwise, Kakashi couldn't bring himself to care about his former reputation. Although, the people who chose to stay inside the system sure had their opinions about it. They just weren't worth much to him. The only person whose view mattered to Kakashi opposed the absurd system and hated it with a burning passion.

Obito wasn't entirely wrong when he said that the mere existence of the shinobi was the reason why peace couldn’t ever be achieved. The system itself kept the vicious cycle of hatred and bitterness going. As long as people were killed _for the sake of the village_ , there would be always someone whose loved ones were killed.

Akatsuki had decided to show an alternative and while some of the methods the organization used were debatable, the thin line between questionable and unreasonable had never been crossed. That was why Kakashi had been willing to accept some of the shadiest missions and help Obito to find a way to rebuild the system.

But now with the recent turn of events, that invisible line was about to be crossed and things became rather complicated.

Capturing the tailed beasts seemed reasonable enough since they were major sources of power for the major shinobi villages but rebuilding reality itself sounded crazy.

Kakashi had never claimed that he agreed with Madara's plan. It was extreme and irreversible and Obito knew it. He just didn't seem to care too much about it.

Kakashi had to interfere soon.

Reasoning with Obito was usually hopeless. Kakashi had tried many times only to fail miserably. Obito saw through all the attempts he’d made to sugarcoat his words which was why there was no subtle way to convince him

A direct approach was the best option but often times, even that failed as well. Obito was stubborn when it came down to making the _right_ choices. In some sense, giving up altogether was tempting. Kakashi had relearned to overlook their questionable actions whenever he needed to and it had worked pretty well until now.

But while dismissing the lives of a couple of strangers had been a necessity, Kakashi couldn't just turn his gaze away when Obito’s plan was to set the whole world on fire.

Kakashi had been there when Obito declared that they'd get some new allies and retrieve Madara's eyes while they were at it. He had pleaded Obito to reconsider his methods and tried to convince him that ruining three lives and possibly a village wasn't the way to go. Obito had shrugged it off by stating that the lives around the possessor of the Rinnegan were already more or less ruined and what they were advocating was simply naïve.

It hadn't been the first time Kakashi had witnessed someone dying without interfering but it had been the first time he had questioned whether following Obito had been a mistake.

Being in Ame and simply watching people sincerely trying to make a change be given nothing but unfairness had been hard. Especially when it could've been avoided.

”We're doing this for the greater good, Bakashi.” Obito had insisted, “They'll meet their friend again in the world we'll create.” Then Obito had tilted his head and watched almost curiously how suddenly everything changed right in front of his eyes.

_Things will be different in the world we'll create._

Obito still said it a lot. Such an argument was an easy one to make and impossible to counter since Obito didn't think what happened in or to this world was important. He was going to make a new one and therefore nothing was permanent enough to care about.

That, of course, was pure insanity. There was no way around it.

Now, starting a worldwide revolution by demilitarizing all the nations seemed more reasonable. Considering how the people born and raised inside the system were treated like replaceable government property, it was understandable to be angry and feel the need to change it.

On a personal level, Kakashi couldn't have brought himself to care much, that was until the day his eyes had been opened forcefully. No one could ever convince him that what Rin had done was anything but selfless and brave. However, the fact that putting the village always first was rooted so deep into people that even children were ready to jump to their deaths without even blinking was beyond messed up. If that wasn't a good reason to be damn mad at the system, then nothing was.

In Obito's case, all the anger wasn't all about the unfairness of the system, it went much deeper than that. He didn't just want to start a revolution, he wanted to watch the word to burn and fade into ashes.

Kakashi had tried to convince himself that Obito's rage would eventually cool off and that he'd be able to finally see how rotten to the core Madara's plan was.

But that never happened, no matter how hard Kakashi tried to see even the slightest hint of doubt in him.

Obito had learned to hide his anger and become better at controlling it but it was still there, hiding and bottling up. He was basically a walking time bomb and now the situation was escalating fast.

Kakashi had been there the whole time even though he wished he hadn't.

He couldn't just watch how Obito was getting ready to commit to a crime against humanity, no matter how painless it was going to be. Dreams didn’t resolve real problems and something about the whole plan felt wrong, even though Kakashi couldn’t put his finger on what it was. The fact that this was originally Madara’s plan didn’t help.Obito was fully aware of all the concerns Kakashi had but he decided not to care and believe instead that what he was doing was going to be a favor to all of mankind.

Would those extreme measures be worth sacrificing the existence of free will? Kakashi had his doubts. While he could see the good intentions behind the plan, it felt just a bit too radical and the worst problem was that Obito was rushing. Sometimes he didn’t seem to understand the gravity of his actions and that kept bothering Kakashi. They needed more time but Obito wasn’t willing to wait for anything at all. He had grown impatient.

Many times, Kakashi had felt clueless after deciding to follow Obito but he had been able to adapt. He wouldn't say that he was bad at planning ahead but this time nothing could get through to Obito. That crazy son of a bitch was just stubborn as hell and that persistent nature rarely suited insanity well.

This madness needed to stop.

”Are you trying to bore me to death?” Obito asked. His voice was almost cheerful and if anyone else had been in the room observing, they would've seen two friends playing cards on the top of someone's deathbed, sitting on the floor and doing their best to ignore the fact that there was an unconscious person lied between them.

Obito had been right about the jinchūriki of the Three-Tails looking rough though the state of the man had been a bit unfortunate for a while. He had been hardly alive in many years but now he seemed so weak that his demise seemed inevitable. The texture of his skin had gotten waxy and his lips had lost their color. While he wasn't fully dead, the first signs of not getting enough oxygen were there already. His labored breathing showed not only his physical exertion but also his pain.

Kakashi didn't dare to even ask how this man was even breathing – at this point, it seemed that the only thing keeping him alive was the combination of the tailed beast inside him and the genjutsu that kept the beast itself under Obito's control.

”You know, he'll be dead in a few days if he doesn't get medical attention,” Kakashi ignored Obito's question.

”I'm not blind, Bakashi,” Obito commented with a dry tone.

”I know you aren't,” Kakashi replied.

”Yeah, you just think I'm dumb and reckless,” Obito said. His carefree attitude was chilling and it didn't fit the gravity of the situation at all. Come to think of it, his entire being was slightly unnerving these days. It wasn't that he had changed that much inside, it was just that his essence was bent, twisted into a repulsive combination of eerie cheerfulness and sinister brightness.

_No, you're not dumb, only reckless and sometimes it makes you seem so stupid_ , Kakashi wished he could say it aloud.

But arguing wasn't going to help. In fact, Kakashi had a feeling that nothing  was going to help anymore but he had to try reasoning with him one last time to sleep at night.

”All I'm saying is that you should reconsider,” Kakashi sighed. He wasn't trying too hard since he already knew that this battle was already lost.

Yagura wasn't going to get the medical attention he needed and in the best case scenario he would hang on until Kakuzu and Hidan were done in Kumo.

”Is this about your imaginary, perfect setup?” Obito asked, still unconcerned.

Kakashi could see that one ever so red eye narrowing a bit. He hadn't seen Obito's face in a long time but that one eye was full of expression. The gaze seemed to pierce right through Kakashi and he tried his best to ignore the nauseating feeling he got from it.

”If you want to call it that, then yes,” Kakashi admitted. He wasn't too interested in fighting about semantics. ”We agreed not to rush with the Two-Tails.”

”Plans change,” Obito wasn't having any of it, apparently. His gaze lingered on Kakashi's face, trying to find even the slightest hint of dishonesty. ”A few extra weeks is hardly worth risking it all. Now, make your move already.”

Kakashi glanced at the cards he was holding.

”You're cheating,” he mumbled as he played his hand.

”That's the whole point,” Obito claimed.

Kakashi couldn't help but sigh again. He was by no means the best gambler out there but now that he and Obito agreed to still keep on looking for Tsunade and use some traditional methods instead of the controversial ones, they really needed to do something better than a few cheap tricks.

”The thing about this game is that you need to actually calculate your odds,” Kakashi protested, knowing all too well that Obito didn't believe in playing fair.

But then again, Kakashi hadn't figured out yet the trick behind Obito's suspicious success, so maybe it would be fine. They'd be able to search through some casinos and claim that they were raising funds for Akatsuki while they were at it. The only one who'd actually keep an eye out for them was Zetsu and since Obito was generally fond of shady environments there was really nothing too suspicious about it. Kakashi didn't even pretend to understand it. He should've been glad that Obito had agreed to give a bit more time to search for lady Tsunade.

One problem was that they rarely had a proper chance to speak about their plans and this room wasn't a safe environment either. Zetsu seemed to be around every corner. Obito had delegated some tasks to the plantling but it could be lurking anywhere and since it had no chakra, detecting it was nearly impossible. Still, it would grow only more suspicious if Obito and Kakashi were out of the line of sight for too long.

There were many topics Kakashi needed to address before it was too late but it wasn't easy to find the right words to do so.

If there was a bright side to the Mizukage's condition, it was that keeping Zetsu busy spying was now reasonable. After all, someone needed to keep an eye out for the dying jinchūriki and since it was Obito's genjutsu that kept him under control, him wanting to take care of the matter personally made perfect sense.

Needless to say, Kakashi still wasn't too happy about the way Obito was handling the current situation.

All of their plans felt incomplete and the number of things that could go horribly wrong just grew and grew every day. While Kakashi couldn't tell for sure whether he considered Obito a friend anymore, they shared a bond that wasn't that easy to break. Therefore he cared about Obito on some level and the feeling was mutual. Otherwise, Kakashi wouldn't have been able to speak his mind so clearly without being considered a threat that needed to be eliminated.

But Obito didn't trust anyone, let alone Kakashi. He ignored his mistrust and brought it up from time to time to remind Kakashi that this relationship wasn't about true loyalty, nor was it about being allies. They just needed each other in order to be powerful.

Neither of them cared too much about it.

But despite the weird alliance Kakashi had with Obito, there were still times when Kakashi wondered should he have chosen differently. The answer to that question wasn't a simple one.

Perhaps his life in Konoha wouldn't have been too different. Being born inside the system meant that one's life was always going to be in danger in some manner and that made being a registered shinobi suck as much as being a traitor did.

Believing that Obito was dead had been comfortable even though admitting it hurt like hell. It had provided Kakashi a reason to keep going, to keep the legacy alive if nothing else. He had been able to convince himself that what he was doing was right – that he had been living the life Obito had wanted to live.

However, now that Obito was alive and well there was nothing dear to hold on to. While he was the reason Kakashi kept going, he wasn't the boy who had been able to make Kakashi see light at the end of the tunnel.

”I don't think your odds are good right now,” Obito noted after a few more hands had been played.

Kakashi glared at his partner. He met Obito's gaze again and this time it was less menacing, a bit teasing and almost soft. In moments like these, it almost felt like there could be some sort of friendship between them.

And it hurt.

”Maa, I could be looking at the bigger picture here,” Kakashi said.

Obito rolled his eye – or eyes since from what Kakashi had heard, he had received a transplant from Madara – and pushed his cards together.

”Really?” he asked, unimpressed this time. ”You're the worst liar I've ever met.”

”That's because we don't associate with honest people,” Kakashi maintained and flashed a smile wide enough to reach his eyes. Many people found it charming. Obito called it his bullshit face. Perhaps he had a point.

”No, that's because when you're talking crap, you're actually tolerable,” Obito corrected.

”You have to be more specific,” Kakashi stated but at the same time, he felt relieved. He had just received a helpful tip. Despite Obito being as vague as usual, helpfulness meant that instead of trying to find an obscure place and pulling off a plan that could maybe work, Obito was actually willing to search for lady Tsunade from the places she was rumored to roam. Or at least Obito was willing to improve Kakashi's poker face.

”You act friendly,” Obito still preferred to make little sense but at least now Kakashi could see where he was coming from.

The interaction between them was either blunt and brief or teasing and light but they preferred the latter usually when they needed to dance around touchy subjects.

”You're right,” Kakashi agreed after thinking about it for a while. ”But that's not something a stranger would notice.”

”So, we aren't strangers then?” Obito asked.

Kakashi shrugged.

”We've worked together for years,” he pointed out but again, denying certain facts was unnecessary.

Obito said nothing which was probably for the best. Ripping old wounds open was pointless.

A part of Kakashi was hurting in a similar way he had been while mourning for the boy who should've been his best friend. Kakashi had never stopped feeling like he had lost someone irreplaceable even though it was very evident that Obito had indeed survived. He just wasn't the person Kakashi had wanted him to be and while grieving it was selfish, it couldn't be helped.

But of course it wasn't Obito's responsibility to fill the void in Kakashi's heart.

In fact, the man behind the orange mask was a stranger. He resembled Obito just enough to make Kakashi question whether his attachment to that person was real or was he still just reflecting his past regrets to the traitor who had been possessing Obito's body for years. Sometimes it seemed to be the narrative Obito tried to push but mostly, it was Kakashi himself who pondered these thoughts and always ended up in a conclusion that wasn't a pleasant one.

That asshole was still important to Kakashi despite everything.

When he had met Kakashi the first time after his presumed death, he had been persistent to be called anything but his own name and he had insisted that the affairs in this reality didn't matter anymore. Most of his ramblings had been so incoherent Kakashi hadn't known what to do or say. So he had just stayed and listened to it all, trying to understand.

When it had finally stopped, there had been only one thing left to say.

”Kushina is dying,” and it had been Obito's fault.

That's when Obito had finally snapped out of it and stared at Kakashi like it was the first time he had noticed him.

”Sensei is going to seal the Nine-Tails back in her,” Obito had mumbled and turned his gaze down to the ground.

”It's not safe anymore,” Kakashi had forced himself to repeat the words Minato had said a bit earlier. He had felt a lump in his throat and he really should've killed Obito right there and then.

But he had swallowed his tears and proceeded to explain everything he knew about what Minato was going to do. There hadn't been anyone else in the world who could've done anything about it and Kakashi had thought that maybe, just maybe, Obito would stop all nightmares from becoming real. Minato had planned to seal half of the Nine-Tails to himself and the other half to his own son. At least that had been the bits Kakashi had overheard while Kushina had begged Minato to spare their son.

There had been a long pause before a slight, joyless chuckle had escaped Obito's lips.

”That's so typical of him,” he had stated.

”He's going to die!” Kakashi had protested.

”Then let him.”

”Obito, please…”

”The thing is, I really don't care, Kakashi,” Obito had maintained. ”And neither should you.”

”What about their son?”

Obito shrugged.

Obito had been right.

Worrying about someone like Minato had been in vain. It took years before Kakashi had learned to accept it but back then he had been just a clueless, idealistic brat. He had wanted to believe in people, to have a little bit of faith in them.

But he had already known that it was going to be either Obito or Konoha and there hadn't been _anything_ left in the village.

Kushina had been dying and Minato…

He hadn't been worth it.

The brat had been a lost cause since he was Minato's son.

Whenever Kakashi recalled those crucial moments, he wanted to curse his younger self to the deepest pits of hell.

But then again, he couldn't blame himself too much for choosing a friend over the village that had made him lose everyone important around him in one way or another.

Kakashi had felt like he was in no position to condemn Obito. He had never forgotten the event that had taken place during the night Kushina had died but more than that, he had been too numb to hate Obito for it. In a certain way, he felt responsible because none of it would've happened if he had only been able to keep his promise and keep Rin save.

But the past didn't make up for what Obito was about to pull off.

Kakashi had never believed in miracles. What he did believe in, however, was effort and consistency. He had tried to turn Obito's head around slowly but that bastard was just too blind to see everything wrong in Madara's plan.

Even lying on the ground, shaking and crying, he had refused to see the flaws and the backlash.

”I can't even die,” he had whispered and nothing more. Kakashi had understood the rest without any words. He had known Obito for long enough to see how he would force the world down on its knees because it was all he could do.

The only thing left for Kakashi had been to wait.

Slowing Obito down had worked for a little while but he had grown impatient lately. If anything had remained the same, it was his impatience which was a really dangerous combination with tremendous force and willingness to push through an irreversible plan or die trying.

Kakashi didn't want Obito to be gone again.

Despite them barely knowing each other anymore there had been many good days and times when Kakashi had felt grateful to have someone who could understand him just a little bit. When there was even one person who could read you like a book, life felt almost tolerable. In fact, Obito understood Kakashi better than he did himself and vice versa. Obito could always tell what was on Kakashi's mind. Hells, he seemed to know what every tiny expression meant before Kakashi himself was able to put his thoughts together.

Such skill was easy to utilize.

”The key is to look through them,” Obito had once explained. ”And see what's rotten,” he had added.

Kakashi had simply nodded. It hadn't taken that much time for him to catch what all the talk about inner darkness meant. Obito had demonstrated his skills in that field pretty well.

He was really at his best when he looked right through Kakashi and _saw_ everything that was ugly and rotten to the core.

Kakashi had been staring at his deck for a way too long.

Playing fair against Obito rarely worked well.

”Is he still breathing?” Kakashi asked as he glanced at his latest failure.

Obito placed his hand near the jinchūriki's mouth to check his airways. They had been taking turns even though Obito hadn't asked for help.

”Yeah, he's fine,” Obito confirmed. ”Aside from being unconscious and grey that is,” he added as he met Kakashi's gaze.

Years spent as traitors had taught them both a lot about basic medical knowledge. But while both of them were able to deal with many kinds of minor injuries and do some basic surgery, neither of them were able to do much when it came down to diagnosing the problem. The jinchūriki's state was unfortunate but the best diagnosis they had been able to come up with was that _it could be anything_.

Some members of Akatsuki had a decent amount of medical knowledge and perhaps someone like Orochimaru would've been able to help but asking help from Akatsuki wasn't really an option. No one was trustworthy and keeping this man alive at any cost would make Zetsu suspicious. At least that’s what Obito kept saying while Kakashi would've considered finding an outsider to take a look.

Kakashi should've said something.

He was still trying to find a subtle way to reason with Obito a bit more which was easier said than done.

As they had grown older, they had learned to maintain a certain level of politeness while interacting with each other. Neither of them was too interested in conflicts but their relationship was still volatile under the surface. There was also an unspoken promise not to mention certain topics and Madara's possible involvement in the events that happened over sixteen years ago was one of them.

Kakashi had to dance around many sensitive subjects for sure and he wasn’t great with words.

Obito didn't seem to believe that anyone would rescue a dying, weak brat out of the goodness of their hearts. He was too cynical for that but every last bit of his rationality seemed to disappear the moment he was forced to remember anything that had to do with Rin and that alone made reasoning with him a challenge.

Sometimes Kakashi wondered why he even bothered. Perhaps he had given up already. Obito wasn't exactly his friend and he was hardly even an ally. Logically speaking, Kakashi was the only one with a slight chance to stop Obito. Lately, he had finally been able to use his Mangekyō and in optimal conditions, he could counter Obito's intangibility.

All it took to kill someone was one strike.

Kakashi had made up his mind. If killing Obito was the only way to stop him, it had to be done. With the right timing and careful planning, it wouldn't be impossible.

But even though Kakashi knew that he was running out of options, thinking about the task ahead made him feel nauseous. When he had encountered Obito once more during that dreadful night, he had sworn to himself that he was going to make things right and never let Obito down again.

There had to be another way.

But Obito was right.

This world was the wrong place to make promises since none of them could be kept for sure.

Kakashi felt once more a curious gaze lingering on his skin, carefully studying every expression like he was trying to expose lies.

Obito hadn't trusted in Kakashi in years. Why would he? Kakashi had broken the only promise that had ever mattered to Obito and therefore all the mistrust was entirely justified, so understandable. Perhaps keeping Kakashi alive was Obito's idea of a perfect revenge or maybe he still remembered how it felt to care about someone and he wasn't ready to let go of it yet. Either way, he hadn't bothered to take back his eye, nor had he ever done anything that implied he wanted Kakashi dead.

He knew that Kakashi wasn't going to let him complete the plan he thought was the only solution to achieve peace.

Yet they both kept pretending that they were fine.

Just two old friends playing cards and trying to make sure that the situation stayed under their control.

But a dreadful hunch that things would go sour pretty fast haunted the room and made the air heavy.

”Maybe you're right,” Kakashi said finally. ”You should teach me a few tricks before we start raising funds for Akatsuki,” and search for lady Tsunade but that went without saying because Zetsu had ears everywhere.

”Oh?” Obito asked. ”But I thought you were relying on the odds,” his tone was a bit too friendly and he was hardly talking about gambling.

”I still am,” Kakashi replied. He wasn't going to lie about this since a part of him still wanted to find a way to convince Obito to wait for a little while before taking another step towards irreversibility. ”But a little bit of creativity won't hurt, don't you think?”

Obito tilted his head.

”Right now I'm your opponent, Bakashi,” he reminded as his eye narrowed to a slit. ”Which means that you're on your own.”

”Aren't we supposed to be a team?”

”You tell me,” Obito countered and Kakashi felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck. Obito having his doubts was hardly anything new but the slight amusement in his voice never stopped bothering Kakashi a bit.

_You really don't care, do you?_

”I'd say yes if that mattered,” Kakashi replied. ”Is it a genjutsu?”

”Don't be stupid,” Obito groaned. ”You know that our little friend here needs all my attention right now.”

”Does he?” Kakashi couldn't tell for sure whether Obito was enjoying the opportunity to show his wicked sense of drama or if the situation really was that bad.

Even though there was a meaningful pause, Kakashi had learned the hard way to take everything with a grain of salt.

”We both know that he's barely even breathing,” Obito reminded.

Kakashi laid his cards aside before bringing his hand close enough the jinchūriki's mouth to check his airway. At first, he felt nothing and that alone made his heart to skip a beat.

”You gotta be kidding,” he muttered. ”I think, he's…” he began to speak but then he felt it; a slight, warm breath tickling his fingers.

”Oh, don't mind him,” Obito cooed cheerfully. ”He just loves to play dead sometimes.”

Kakashi forced himself to chuckle a bit even though there was hardly anything funny about the state the jinchūriki was in. If that man died, it meant more rushing and changes to the plans which was hardly optimal for anyone.

It would mean that Kakashi would have to deal with Obito sooner than he was ready and while the thought of it was just sickening, Kakashi also knew that the less time he had, the more he'd need to rely on luck and that was the most certain way to screw up. It seemed to work for Obito but he was a natural improviser and he'd have the upper hand in a situation where the key element to success was to come up with a strategy fast.

Kakashi knew he wasn't the only one who opposed Madara's plan. Nagato and Konan hadn't seemed trustworthy and allying with them would've been reasonable.

But Kakashi had stayed away from them.

This was personal and while it made things harder for him, he did care about Obito enough to make sure that Obito had a fair chance to back off.

But that wasn't what Kakashi wanted either.

Because if Obito ever decided to screw Madara's plan, Kakashi didn't want him dead. That would prove that despite being a twisted, nihilistic bastard, Obito wasn't doing anything so extreme that Kakashi wouldn't be able to look away.

There was even a good chance that whatever Madara had done to Obito all those years ago would prevent Obito from turning his back to the plan and while their ideas were pretty vague regarding the issue, it simply seemed impossible that someone like Madara had left anything relying on luck.

That was the main reason they needed more time.

”Okay, Bakashi,” Obito finally broke the silence. ”I'm done playing,” and with that, his image in front of Kakashi was gone.

So, it had been a genjutsu. This was good news since Obito didn't struggle as much with the Three-Tails and its jinchūriki as he had claimed.

”You're such a cheater,” Kakashi accused when he turned around and saw Obito in the corner reading one of the latest novels by Jiraiya. ”And a thief. Give it back.”

”But why?” Obito protested and this time the amusement in his voice was genuine, friendly even. ” _Even if there wasn't any gravity on earth, your smile would lift me up_ ,” he had memorized a line from page twenty.

”Just stop,” Kakashi pleaded. His face felt sweaty and warm suddenly which probably didn't help at all since Obito simply laughed. ”Please.”

”Rude, just let _my heart speak and make notes_ ,” there was another quote, this time from the very first chapter. ”Seriously, how can you read this shit?” Obito asked and even though his face was hidden, the smirk was audible.

But he was kind enough to drop it and toss the book aside after a few more carefully selected notes.

And for a while, things seemed to be just the way they were supposed to.

It had never hurt this much before.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been quite a while but here's the new update.
> 
> This chapter deals with some heavy topics and there are a couple of icky elements. Also, there will be emotionally dark moments and in all fairness, some characters aren't going to be treated well. This isn't 100 % fix-it even though we're aiming for a romance. So, there, you've been warned.
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoy the story!

It was quiet.

Death wasn't always peaceful, serene or good, especially not for shinobi. However, the jinchūriki of the Three-Tails was going to die in his sleep. There were worse ways to go though that, of course, hardly mattered. Everyone would be given a second chance in the new world, including this man.

Kakashi was asleep. He had nodded off a couple hours ago and rested his head on Obito's shoulder in his slumber. Instead of waking him up, Obito had let it slide. Sure, the situation was weird but it bothered him a lot less than he'd thought it would. They'd been sleeping in turns to make sure that some potentially unfortunate incidents could be avoided.

The jinchūriki's condition kept deteriorating. The bedsores on his body didn't heal. They got bigger and bigger, and eventually, his flesh would just rot.

But the man wouldn't live for so long.

When the jinchrūki eventually died, the bijū sealed within him would die along with him. Since the tailed-beasts were pure chakra, their deaths weren't permanent. Their energy would reform and they'd revive.

Eventually.

But Obito couldn't afford to delay. Zetsu had informed him that Sasori and Deidara were close to Suna and that they would be ready to start their mission at any moment. Kakuzu and Hidan were also close to their target.

Obito glanced at Kakashi who still breathed heavily, unaware of the world around him. They had been unable to decide what to do next.

Kakashi wanted to wait, as usual.

Finding the Three-Tails after its revival had been relatively easy since Kiri had made notorious efforts to bring it back to the village and tracking down jinchūrikis themselves was never hard. In order to discover their true identities, all one had to do was to observe patiently. After all, jinchūrikis caused fear among people which resulted in various rumours spreading. Listening to them had turned out to be a good call.

More than that, Kiri's actions had been somewhat predictable. When the Three-Tails had been revived, there had been only so many people with the ability to hold down the beast. Given how impressive amount of traitors Kiri had, sealing the beast inside the Mizukage himself seemed pretty logical.

In any other circumstances, Obito would've considered finding another jinchūriki for the Three-Tails but the whole mess had just escalated so quickly that there was no time to do that. Time moved slowly while being trapped in the same room but the truth was that this wasn't a matter of weeks or months, this was a clusterfuck that occurred in the worst possible time. Could it have been avoided? Obito couldn't tell for sure but Kakashi seemed to think that the answer was ”no”. The jinchūriki had been just fine for years before suddenly his state had crashed without any apparent reason.

The Three-Tails wasn't the only problem.

It'd be stupid to assume that the other villages wouldn't react after learning that the tailed-beasts were captured by a group that existed outside the system. It was going to happen sooner or later, so sitting tight wasn't a real option. Akatsuki would have to proceed fast after capturing the first beast.

Kakashi could disagree with that all he wanted.

And he certainly would.

There was no point in trying to find some common ground. The best way to deal with Kakashi was to ignore him until he came up with something better than his personal favorite strategy which was to wait and see.

Obito glanced at Kakashi again from the corner of his eye. Sitting there together against the jinchūriki's deathbed made Obito realize how alone they were. It was like the whole world around them was also _waiting_.

Witnessing death wasn't a rare event in any shinobi's life. However, deliberate killings were fast. Sure, sometimes the execution itself was far from optimal and everything got messy but the end result was always expected, an intended outcome. When that purposefulness was taken away, witnessing death felt almost uncomfortable.

Almost.

Obito couldn't say that he was too sorry for the jinchūriki. Many unfortunate developments had taken place during the time the man had still ruled Kiri. The sad part was that putting him under a genjutsu hadn't made any significant difference. Kiri had been a poorly authorized village with fairly corrupted leaders even before the time Obito had decided to run some tests with the Three-Tails. Controlling the beasts was tricky even with a Sharingan, and so some experiments had to be performed.

One jinchūriki had gone rogue and running the necessary tests with him would've been a lot easier than to control the Mizukage himself but…

Kiri was targeted for a reason.

Kakashi had been wise enough not to question that particular decision any further.

Obito was restless, a bit stiff from sitting too long. Kakashi's warm breath tickled his neck, reminding him how little space was between them.

The air in the room felt odd.

Obito inched away from Kakashi slowly, careful not to wake him up. They had been stuck in this room for days, both painfully aware of the fact that something had to be done soon. Otherwise, they'd have to deal with a situation they weren't prepared for and that would lead to a complete disaster. Come to think of it, waiting for a miracle had been a waste of time and Kakashi already knew it. The only question remaining was why.

Why they'd take yet another risk by trying to keep the jinchrūki alive when they already knew that it was useless?

What had to be done next was also dicey.

Obito bit his lip before he stretched his limbs lazily, feeling the muscles tighten and a twinge of phantom pain from his right arm. That numbness would never wear off.

Kakashi took a few rapid breaths that broke the previous pattern of regularity. It seemed like he was reaching out for something, probably the book that he had been holding in his hands while he had fallen asleep. A couple of seconds later he opened his eye and turned to face Obito.

”So, have I missed anything important?” he asked. At least he gave a fuck or two about the current disaster.

”Not really,” Obito replied. He fixed his gaze on the jinchūriki once again. ”We can't keep him like that forever.”

Kakashi barely even looked at the man. But he nodded.

”I know.”

”His time is up. We should extract the Three-Tails now,” Obito announced. He wasn't too excited about the plan Z but they were out of options.

Kakashi blinked and stared at Obito like a crazy person which in retrospect was far from the worst possible reaction. Kakashi was giving a benefit of a doubt by questioning Obito's sanity. It could've been amusing if they weren't in such an awful place to have yet another argument.

”Now? Just the two of us?” Kakashi spoke quietly, bemused.

”That's the plan,” Obito confirmed. He couldn't help grimace when he noticed the look on Kakashi's face. It implied that this plan wasn't going to be executed without Kakashi's disapproval.

”But…” Kakashi cut himself short. ”For fuck's sake.”

Well, at least he viewed the problem similarly to Obito.

”Actually, forget that I said 'we'. I'm going to do it myself.”

”That's insane.”

”You always say that,” Obito pointed out. He was aware of the slight annoyance in his voice.

”Most of your methods are that: insane.”

”Bakashi, this man is dying. We have to do something,” Obito stated and hoped that he wouldn't have to repeat himself twice. ”Just shut up unless you have any better ideas.”

Kakashi stood up and stared at Obito, estimating the situation. He was probably calculating the potential pros and cons, coming slowly to the conclusion that their time was running out.

Finally.

”I'm not sure,” Kakashi was still hesitant. ”Two teams are already near their targets and extracting the beast requires a lot of chakra. Why is this so urgent?”

Obito gritted his teeth and crossed his arms. This conversation was annoying already.

”Just out of curiosity,” Obito hissed, ”how purple his skin has to be before you'll get the point? 'Cause I'd go buy some paint if only he stayed alive without me consistently making the Three-Tails use whatever regenerative abilities it can provide.”

”Alright then,” Kakashi's tone was calm. ”Let's presume that we're going to extract the Three-Tails. The first question is how?”

”There are ways,” Obito replied. ”There's a certain technique that can be utilized when the seal is weakened. This happens when the vessel – the jinchūriki – can't contain the chakra sealed in them.”

Kakashi expression darkened. He didn't question how Obito knew about such a technique, nor did he ask whether Obito had used it before. They had come into an agreement that neither would mention Kushina or what had happened to her, so in a way, this was the first time Kakashi learned anything new about that night, fifteen years ago.

”You would have extracted the Three-Tails days ago if you were certain about that technique,” Kakashi pointed out. ”Why? What is the reason for that?”

”I'm not sure if the seal is weak enough,” Obito explained. ”When he was still somewhat conscious, he concentrated all his chakra into the seal.”

It had been the last, desperate attempt to prevent Obito from taking control and while the lord Fourth had been a fairly hard enemy to deal with, he hadn't been the fearsome fighter that the rumors led people to believe.

But then again, very few shinobi lived up to their reputation.

”So, in other words, you're avoiding a risk by taking even a bigger one,” Kakashi chose his words carefully. They were meant to provoke a challenge.

”No, quite the opposite,” Obito said. He took a few steps closer to the bed and laid his fingers on the jinchūriki's chest after sliding the covers down.

While the seal itself was a unique piece probably crafted by the Mizukage himself, it seemed to work pretty similarly to some more common seals. When Obito ran his fingers across the jinchūriki's skin, he could feel chakra leak through so clearly that the hair on the back of his neck stood up. It was almost like the Three-Tails' chakra transpired through the jinchūriki's skin and streamed into whoever was touching him – even through gloved hands.

Kakashi kept a close eye on Obito the entire time which was pretty typical. Their distrust ran much deeper than they were willing to admit aloud.

Obito had never claimed that he wouldn't speed up things a bit.

”What about Kiri?” Kakashi finally asked.

”What about it?”

”Well, we're dealing with the Mizukage here. His demise won't be unnoted.”

”Yeah, it probably won't,” Obito agreed. ”But Kiri is not our problem and this man won't be missed that much.”

Kakashi nodded, still thoughtful. He was against necessary sacrifices more often than not but even he couldn't deny the fact that the Mizukage had been a ruthless ruler. Lord Fourth's solution to the notorious amount of traitors in Kiri had been shedding blood until there'd been none left to shed.

Naturally, impersonating the Mizukage had required some actions. Obito had carried them out personally after taking control of the man and the tailed beast sealed in him. It had never made him lose sleep but he'd just rather not continue with that, he had other things to worry about.

Besides, now that the jinchūriki was going to die there was no point in worrying about Kiri. The village had no use.

But…

A traitor imposing a merciless leader without any tolerance for defection was an ironic concept. It could've made Obito question whether targeting Kiri for some experiments was really worth it.

”There are still some issues we need to think about before proceeding,” Kakashi stated. ”If the word about the Mizukage's demise goes out before we're officially assigned to capture the Three-Tails, that might draw some suspicion from Akatsuki.”

”Maybe,” Obito admitted.

As far as the most of Akatsuki members knew, Kakashi and Tobi were given an order to surveil the jinchūriki and they were under the instructions to keep a very close eye on him. It was going to be hard to cover the fact that the Three-Tails was extracted prematurely.

Some members wouldn't question such an occurrence at all but then again, Kisame was known for his former connections to the Fourth and Orochimaru sure as hell would grow curious after learning that someone had been capable of extracting a Tailed-Beast in a way that no one had seen before. Perhaps Kakashi could've technically done it but that would raise a question where he'd learned a technique that was supposedly well hidden and known just by a couple of the Uchiha clan members.

And the clan was also a threat.

Anything that implied that someone outside of Konoha had a Sharingan in their possession would draw some unwanted attention from the Uchiha clan and since they possessed a lot of knowledge that others didn't, there was a lot of potential for more unwanted consequences.

Kakashi was right. They needed to hide the fact that the Mizukage was dead until the Akatsuki was ready to perform the ritual that would bind the Three-Tails to the Gedō statue.

”Well, looks like you do have some fair points, Bakashi,” Obito concluded. He even sneered a bit while saying that. Everything always became so amazingly messy and complicated that it was downright funny.

”What are you going to do about it?” Kakashi's expression rarely gave away his emotions but this time a slight hint of curiousness sharpened his gaze.

”I assign deciding that to you,” Obito said as he leaned closer to the jinchūriki. He had learned to ignore the labored breathing. Neither his nor Kakashi's non-existent medical skills would prevent the man from dying. He was barely even alive.

”You wouldn't trust in me that much,” Kakashi pointed out. ”Unless you had to.”

Well, what a ridiculously insightful analysis that was.

”You're not wrong about that either,” Obito admitted. However, he didn't feel a particular need to explain himself any further.

Extracting the Three-Tails would draw some unwanted attention to everything that seemed out of the ordinary and that's why he wanted to keep a low profile for a while. In a way, his disguise stood out like a sore thumb which didn't need to change in any way since that made him also somewhat more invisible. However, a certain rebalancing was needed to deal with the upcoming turns. Obito had to minimize the risks and make sure that all eyes were on Kakashi and to Kakashi's credit, he knew how to do that.

But Obito was hesitating. He wasn't sure what he was waiting for – not Kakashi's approval, that would've been stupid and pathetic. He wasn't optimistic enough to believe that such could be achieved. He'd found out that pretty early in life.

There was always an unrefined feeling that taunted Obito whenever Kakashi drifted into his mind. He just couldn't figure out what was going on in Kakashi's mind which increased his curiosity and kept bugging him to the point where he began to question his own sanity.

Kakashi sighed deeply. His gaze was a little too wary to match his otherwise indifferent body language.

”At least your plan is proceeding,” Kakashi finally said which earned him a glare but other than that, Obito wouldn't continue the argument. The same debate had been going on ever since the day Kakashi had insisted to tag along.

And the most annoying part of it was that Obito had developed a soft spot for the bastard. He had tried to convince himself that it was meaningless and that he'd push the feeling aside easily when he had to.

But he didn't.

He was still hesitating even though Kakashi wasn't trying to stop him from taking the next step.

Obito hadn't felt so pathetic in a while. It was almost like Kakashi was waiting for Obito to proceed and end the jinchūriki's miserable life right there and then. Was Kakashi aware of the fact that his presence made Obito waver?

No, of course not.

Realizing such things required a basic understanding of how people functioned and people skills weren't Kakashi's strongest suit.

Kakashi never wavered himself. He wasn't really the type to interfere unless it was absolutely necessary. His ways to influence were mild and subconscious.

Obito bit his lip. He loathed the way he felt when he met Kakashi's stern gaze.

_So fucking pathetic._

Personal feelings hardly mattered. Why should they get in Obito's way now?

It had never mattered how much he'd respected, admired or loved people around him, especially not when he had believed otherwise. That sort of childish hopefulness had provided nothing but more pain when this absurd reality had shown its true colors.

So why? Why let those  feelings of betrayal matter now?

Obito reached for the kunai he kept strapped to his waist. A split second later, it flung through the air and the blade slashed down inflicting a vertical wound on the jinchūriki's left thigh.

The all too familiar sweet, metallic scent filled the air.

The wound wasn't lethal yet, but given how poorly the man's blood clotted, it would turn out fatal eventually.

Kakashi was frozen in his tracks. He took a deep, shaky breath and closed his eye like he didn't want to believe what had just happened.

”Just why?”

”We need a time limit, don't you think, Bakashi?” Obito figured that his half-assed explanation was good enough. He even felt some sort of naïve satisfaction merely because of the look on Kakashi's face. It took a lot to make someone that stoic react in any kind of way to anything.

”That was unnecessary,” Kakashi's voice was a lot quieter than usual when he finally spoke.

”Was it?” Obito asked but there was a fair point in the criticism. Maybe he was losing it. Ever since the operation had started, he had felt… strange. He couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling out of his system.

Believing in signs and such was just one desperate way to explain this reality but some sort of idiot could say that the universe was trying to give a warning. Everything sure as shit went horribly and admittedly, it was starting to erode on the little sanity Obito had left.

Kakashi was about to say something but he cut himself short when they heard a noise from down below.

Kakashi glanced at Obito a little perplexed. They weren't expecting news from Zetsu, so Obito's guess was as good as Kakashi's.

But whatever this was all about, wasn't going to be great news. Zetsu's ability to use the underground network of organic matter made it travel at high speeds but it rarely paid a visit for nothing.

Obito had just enough time to pull up the covers to hide most of the jinchūriki's body.

”There seems to be a problem,” a disoriented voice recalled, as a white entity emerged from the ground.

Well, at least it was the swirly face who brought the news. Obito didn't want to think about the one created by Madara. It wouldn't react well to the latest news about Kiri and the Three-Tails. If it learned about the current failure, it would interfere. Obito wanted to prevent that. He moved slightly closer to the jinchūriki just in case though there was only so much that could be hidden.

”What is it?” Obito turned to face the creature that had tilted its head. It tried to get a small glimpse of the man lying in the bed.

”Konoha has sent reinforcements.”

”How many?”

”Four.”

”And why should I be concerned about this?” Obito presumed that it was the only question he really needed an answer to. After all, both Sasori and Deidara were very capable of handling even more people than what sounded like a pathetic team of some low-ranking shinobi and possibly one jōnin.

”Well, the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails is there and then there's this one who was famous. What was his name again? Shun? Shin? Shiroi?”

”Shisui?” Obito suggested. He managed to sound pretty bored considering the sudden dread he felt. He'd need a backup plan fast.

”Yes!” the creature exclaimed.

Well, now they got the right name.

Kakashi, on the other hand, seemed worried and this time for a good reason.

”What about those other two?” he asked.

”There's another Uchiha and some girl.”

”Are they a threat?” Obito didn't think so but when it came down to the Uchiha clan, even young members could become a problem pretty fast.

”No.”

”How far away they are from Suna?”

”Not very far,” that wasn't really helpful but it seemed that Sasori and Deidara still had time to start their mission. However, whether they could execute it properly without any outside interference was another question.

”Go surveil the situation,” Obito said. ”We'll to join them pretty soon,” it seemed like a safety measure that was needed right now.

”Oh, what’re you doing?” the creature tilted its head. There was a real chance that the situation with the Three-Tails was going to backfire.

”Nothing that requires any special attention,” Obito assured before any more interest peaked. ”Now, go.”

”Roger!”

And with that, the creature was gone.

”Well, I guess we're in a hurry now,” Kakashi offered with a flat tone.

”Just shut up,” Obito mumbled. ”I need to think.”

Kakashi was kind enough not to make a smartass comment. Typically, he would've said a thing or two about how Obito should've perhaps done more thinking before the whole mess had escalated. In fact, his expression went from stony to thoughtful like he was re-evaluating the situation.

”This doesn't have to be a complete disaster,” Kakashi said like he was testing the idea.

”Didn't you hear?” Obito snapped. ”How long do you think Sasori and Deidara will be able to hold on against someone like Shisui?”

”They have a head start,” Kakashi was being surprisingly reasonable. ”They know to separate when threatened and their top priority is to bring the One-Tail to our hideout in Suna. We can still make it. We can bring the One-Tail to its destination and let Sasori and Deidara handle the team that is sent against Akatsuki. So, before you start spitting fire, just think about it.”

Obito took a couple of deep breaths to calm down. He hadn't anticipated anything like this even though he knew for a fact that Konoha had had a rather warm relationship with Suna. It had been that way ever since Minato had become the Fourth Hokage.

”But how? How did Konoha even know to send reinforcements?” Obito asked.

”You tell me,” Kakashi shrugged.

”Someone has a big mouth,” Obito said. ”And whether it's intentional or not, we can't afford these kinds of mistakes.”

”Akatsuki has many connections,” Kakashi pointed out. ”But realistically speaking, we need to do a lot before we can find out who has caused the incident.”

Obito nodded, still biting his lip, picking the vertical scar with his teeth.

”Your plan does make sense,” he said. ”And if we're lucky, we might learn more about Shisui and his team. You're right. This doesn't need to be a complete failure.”

Obito turned his gaze on the jinchūriki for the one last time. That man had been a goner ever since the day he had decided to seal the beast inside of him and to rule Kiri, making many decisions that were better left forgotten.

There was one personal matter that Obito wanted to bring up before his rather experimental seal breaking attempt.

It was going to be a one-time exception, just for silly, cheap amusement.

”You changed your mind pretty fast, Bakashi.”

”How's so?” Kakashi didn't even blink. There was again that familiar firmness behind his gaze. It was so clear and evident that Obito almost wished he could entertain some dangerously childish ideas. He wanted to believe that perhaps this wasn't just Kakashi coming to the conclusion that now wasn't the best time to break the alliance between the two of them.

Almost.

But thinking that way would always lead to a disappointment and while Obito was pretty darn sure he could handle one more, he wasn’t enough of a masochist to seek out for those on purpose.

”You're actually helpful, that's why,” Obito wasn't too specific but he'd learned that Kakashi was pretty capable of drawing his own conclusions.

”Right now, you're not my enemy,” Kakashi was vague, too. However, his hint was pretty obvious. Things could change anytime and right now Kakashi was kind enough to remind Obito of that. ”Now, don't you have some crafting project?”

Yes.

It was finally the time to end the Mizukage's misery and move on. But just in case things went south…

”I hope you don't mind that I used one of your books to reposition this man. His bedsores got pretty bad.”

”You - - what?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, lovely readers! Pheww, this has been an interesting chapter to write. We're going to see a bunch of new characters and The Plot. It has arrived. Let's go!

”Oh, look!” Obito pointed in the general direction of the village that was barely even recognizable. Many buildings were either collapsed or burning with crimson flames. ”It's Deidara-senpai's art!”

The smoke was still in the air, thick and black. Even though Kakashi and Obito were relatively far away from the village, the fumes rising from the ruins reached their lungs, making breathing almost painful. But then again, they had to wait for Zetsu and the spot they had chosen was good for that. No one would bother them deliberately, at least no one who cared about their respiratory organs.

Kakashi glanced at Obito demeaningly before his gaze fixed on the skyline of Suna, and Obito grinned beneath his mask. Kakashi's deep disapproval would never stop amusing him though admittedly, it was a small consolation given how many difficulties they'd already run into.

”I guess we're late,” Kakashi commented, blunt as ever. He didn't say that it was entirely Obito's fault but the implication was pretty obvious.

There was no point in denying the facts. While the Three-Tails was still in Akatsuki's position, extracting it from its jinchūriki had taken a notable amount of time.

”Well, Zetsu isn't here yet,” Obito announced with the most cheerful tone he could master.

But in all honesty, the plantling's absence was weird since it rarely kept people waiting. Besides, far too many signs suggested that capturing the One-Tail hadn't gone smoothly.

Sure, Sasori and Deidara were both ruthless fighters and very capable and willing to bomb down an entire village. However, they saw themselves as artists instead of systematic militants. They were proud of their signature styles, especially Deidara. That's why the devastation around Suna seemed a bit off. Deidara's view of art was chaotic and unformed. He practically detested order and preciseness, yet the collapsed buildings formed almost a perfect circle.

”Looks like Suna was well prepared,” apparently, Kakashi had noticed the same phenomenon. ”If anything, at least now we can tell almost certainly that someone has surveilled Akatsuki for quite a while. We should inform the boss about this,” he added.

The scorn in Kakashi's voice was barely audible when he called Nagato the boss. While that man was an irreplaceable pawn, he wasn't aware of the recent events. All he knew right now was that he didn't need to worry about the One-Tail or Suna.

Obito glanced at the sky, trying to avoid inhaling contaminated air.

”Senpai is so smart,” Obito cooed only to receive yet another fed up look. ”I know, let's sunbathe while we wait for Zetsu! We wait for him right? We have no clue where to start looking for Sasori and Deidara without any directions,” it was an order instead of a question.

There were ears everywhere and Obito didn't feel like blowing up his cover accidentally.

”Sunbathe, huh?” Kakashi arched his brow. ”Yes, we'll wait,” he confirmed.

Obito took off his robe and put it on the ground. The humid desert air made him sweat like a pig but at least inhaling didn't hurt so much while being closer to the ground. Kakashi crouched down as well and took a careful but a deep breath.

Akatsuki could consider investing in gas masks.

The wait was antagonizing.

Realistically, it hadn't been that long, less than ten minutes. Such an insignificant amount of time shouldn't even be measured but given the circumstances, the situation was slightly unnerving. There were two possible explanations for this, and neither of them did much for Obito's peace of mind. Either Suna's reinforcements had stopped Sasori and Deidara from proceeding or Zetsu had lost track of them.

But Akatsuki had its own methods of communicating whenever it was absolutely necessary.

Sasori and Deidara were told to contact the so-called leader if they needed a backup team. Both of them were prideful and untrustworthy but they seemed to respect the fact that betraying Akatsuki would've been against their best interests. Neither of them wanted to get captured either. Whenever a notable traitor got caught, a mere death penalty wasn't usually enough for the villages.

Perhaps it was fair to assume that the One-Tail was still in their hands.

Obito bit his lip and cursed Suna in his mind. Capturing the first tailed beast was supposed to be the easiest part. It had been a mistake to trust a lousy bunch of misfits to do the job. But regretting that particular decision was already pointeless. Kakashi had managed to come up with a pretty decent plan B and Konoha couldn't possibly know about the reinforcements Sasori and Deidara would get.

Obito managed to calm himself down enough to spew some shit about the nice weather.

”You'll probably get heat stroke,” Kakashi deemed.

”Is senpai concerned for me?”

Nothing suggested that this was the case but Obito just couldn't help himself. He enjoyed the absolutely fed up look on Kakashi's face.

”No, not very,” Kakashi replied. ”Though your hyperthermic death could be slightly problematic.”

_To you?_

Instead of asking any stupid questions aloud, Obito laughed at the answer. He was curious, though. Often times he wondered what Kakashi would do without him.

Probably nothing.

He'd walk away from Akatsuki and spend the rest of his life as a vagabond, reading some shit literature and forgetting about the rest of the world.

That should've been a real option. And it would be.

Soon.

Obito turned his head slightly to the side. He could hear movement from below with his ear pressed against the ground.

”Oh, finally,” he said. ”I bet Zetsu has some mind blowing news.”

Unfortunately.

Kakashi gave a joylessly laugh as he stood up and took a couple of steps away from his previous spot where the sand began to shift.

Zetsu was finally there, this time as two entities merged into one.

”Ah, Zetsu! So nice to see you, it's been like forever,” Obito captured his cheery tone once again despite how uncomfortable he felt around the thing Madara had created.

”There is a problem,” Zetsu got straight to the point. Its shadowy side remained quiet as usual.

”That's hardly a surprise,” Kakashi commented like he had just read Obito's mind.

”The backup from Konoha is reaching Sasori and Deidara. Also, parts of the underground network have collapsed,” Zetsu reported. ”However, the One-Tail is in our possession.”

The collapse of the underground network meant that Zetsu wasn't going to pass information efficiently between Akatsuki members in the desert area.

But nothing was completely ruined. Kakashi's backup plan should still work.

”Any idea of their current whereabouts?” Kakashi asked.

”They are heading towards the caves.”

In other words, they were exactly where they were supposed to be.

Kakashi and Obito glanced at each other.

They'd have to encounter the reinforcements Konoha had sent and while a few brats weren't going to make a huge difference, neither of them wanted to face Shisui Uchiha.

That encounter was meant to happen much, much later.

Since they couldn't entirely count on Zetsu's fast underground traveling they'd have to consider some other alternatives.

But the last thing Obito wanted to do was to give the other Akatsuki members a reason to believe that he wasn’t the irrelevant individual he appeared to be. The organization's dismissiveness of him was the best cover he had. Sending a backup team wasn't that unusual but Zetsu was the messenger. Anyone else doing the job would've raised too many questions.

Maybe all Kakashi and Obito had to do was to hold Shisui back a bit longer than they'd originally planned.

”How much time do you need to get to them?” Kakashi asked.

”It's hard to tell.”

”But you can do it, right? You have to tell them to wait before entering the hideout.”

”Why is that? The sealing should hold back everyone once it is cast,” Zetsu asked.

It was true that Akatsuki had secured every base quite well. Yet, it seemed reasonable to use another location for the extraction process now that Konoha's reinforcements were so close to the desert base.

” _Don't question it. We can reach them in time if we leave now_ ,” a deep, disoriented voice spoke before Kakashi could answer.

Obito felt a chill running through his spine. He tried to shake the unnerving feeling that the creature knew already about the minor incident in Kiri.

”Well, the more time you can give, the better,” Zetsu concluded.

”We'll take care of it,” Kakashi promised. To his credit, he played his role as the decision-maker pretty well.

Soon enough Zetsu was gone. It left a cloud of dust in the air as it dove deep into the ground.

Obito decided to take advantage of the temporary camouflage after looking around for any bystanders. Once he was certain that there were none, he let Kamui swirl him and Kakashi away.

”We must avoid fighting, okay?” it was the only thing he could say to Kakashi before they were in their destination. Estimating a safe distance between them and the Konoha reinforcements was pretty hard based on the small amount of information.

At least they hadn't landed straight on the enemy's front. That was a plus.

Kakashi looked like he was about to protest – for whatever reason this time.

”We'll try,” he confirmed instead.

They walked in silence, looking for traces. It was a rather windless day which meant that finding those wasn't entirely impossible.

After a few minutes of walking and roaming, they noticed sets of footprints to follow.

The sun shone mercilessly hot and blazing. It wasn't surprising that the first person to ever replace their entire body with artificial matter was from around this humid hell. The heat rose off the sand, rippling the air like agitated waves.

Suddenly, hyperthermia didn't seem too far-fetched.

It took quite a while before Obito finally spotted four figures in the distance. He motioned to Kakashi to slow down before approaching the enemy. They were still unseen which gave them an upper hand, an element of surprise. Therefore surveying the situation for a few moments was perfectly affordable.

Risky but then again, worth it.

It appeared that Shisui and his team were on the right track.

They were probably about to catch up to Sasori and Deidara. They moved cautiously, sticking close to each other.

Obito looked around, wondering what to do next.

The dunes provided good cover from detection and the terrain was slowly raising, changing from dry and sandy to rocky and cloistered.

It was easy to predict the direction in which the enemy was headed based on the surroundings. Obviously, they were in a hurry and had no time to take a challenging route.

Kakashi had noticed the exact same thing.

He stopped dead on his tracks, tugging Obito's sleeve slightly like telling him to wait.

”We need to get ahead of them,” Kakashi spoke in a silent voice. ”Can we do that?”

Obito thought about it. He was pretty certain that they were still unspotted and far enough to pull off a risky move. While the thought of it didn't please him, Kakashi was right. Sure, there were many ways to outdistance Shisui's team but all of them were pretty uncertain in such a hard environment.

All except one.

The figures ahead of them ventured deeper into the mountainous area.

When they were out of sight, Obito took Kakashi's hand and let Kamui swirl them away for the last time. They didn't speak at all since words weren't really needed. It was strange how well they still understood each other in situations like these.

They took cover behind tall rocks and waited, listening to muffled voices talking and sounds of people moving around the area. They were getting closer.

The cheerful tone of the quiet chattering implied that none of the enemies knew they had company. Two boys argued about the best possible approach while some girl pointed out that their plans were equally bad and that they could try both methods and still fail miserably.

Shisui's team sounded like the most typical bunch of chūnin one could imagine. Someone thought they were too smart for the mission. He was convinced that following Akatsuki had been a mistake in the first place. Perhaps he was right. Of course, there was someone who was allergic to the attitude and argued that they didn't have any other options. The third voice tried to convince her teammates that they should stop calling each other stupid.

Overhearing the conversation felt almost nostalgic.

But those puny brats weren't as interesting as their teacher who didn't pay much attention to the conversation.

Obito could see him already.

Shisui stopped and drew out a kunai, shushing his team.

It was time for the entry.

Kakashi and Obito exchanged a look and Obito decided to step in first. Even though it was highly unlikely that the situation would escalate into a lethal battle, it was smart to let Kakashi join the company later. His reputation didn't sit well with peaceful intentions. Most people weren't confident enough to face him but sure this wasn't the case with the legendary Shisui Uchiha himself.

No, this time it would be wise to let the enemy know that they weren't here to eliminate anyone.

Misunderstandings would've been inconvenient.

”Oh, hi there!” Obito chirped as he stepped out of the shadows, barely bothering to acknowledge all the sharp objects pointed at him.

”Akatsuki - - What do you want?” Shisui asked, activating his Sharingan. He stretched his arm to his side, signaling his team to stay back.

”Nothing special. We just came to say 'hi'.”

”We?” Shisui echoed. ”Wait, aren't you the one who's with…”

”Me,” Kakashi interrupted as he stepped out of his hiding spot, placing himself next to Obito. ”No need to panic. We aren't here to fight.”

”That's a load of bullshit!” the brat who must've been Minato's son exclaimed. ”Sensei, we gotta get through them before it's too late!”

Obito tilted his head. While he found the boy's attitude almost endearing, he couldn't help but pity him a bit. Such naïve idealism would end up biting him back hard. In fact, he was a jinchūriki and therefore a goner.

The other boy – an Uchiha – rested his palm on the jinchūriki's shoulder.

”Just stop, it's not worth it,” he muttered, glaring at Obito warningly.

It was hardly an intimidating gaze. The brat hadn't awakened his Sharingan.

”We can't just let them take Gaara!”

”Naruto, please,” the girl seemed a bit more hesitant to step up. She glanced at Shisui whose eyes were nailed to Kakashi. Given how worried everyone was, it seemed that the team did acknowledge how little time they had left to rescue the One-Tail or rather the person carrying the beast inside of him.

Admittedly, his fate was unfortunate but nothing could be achieved without sacrifices.

Shisui ignored his students and kept staring Kakashi straight in the eye.

”I guess we should've expected some backup,” he commented with a tone that sounded almost conciliatory. ”Look, I don't know what you people are up to but what you're doing here might cause more harm than you realize.”

He was clearly under the impression that someone had hired Akatsuki to kidnap the jinchūriki and he said exactly what Obito wanted to hear. The tables had finally turned.

”Is that so?” Kakashi asked. The slight amusement in his voice was barely notable but all too familiar to Obito. Kakashi used that tone whenever he was in a particularly devilish mood.

”If the One-Tail is taken elsewhere, there will be a severe imbalance between Suna and the other villages,” Shisui warned. It was actually amazing how people took Kakashi's obvious bullshit seriously.

”Ah, yes, that. We're well aware of the fact that this job might weaken Suna,” Kakashi stated.

That was almost funny. Obito realized it when he swallowed his laugh.

Shisui clenched his teeth.

”Who are you even working for?” he didn't expect an answer, he just wanted a distraction.

”I can't answer that,” Kakashi repeated the refrain every Akatsuki member was taught. He reached for his hitai-ate without pulling it up yet. ”The real question is are you willing to risk your students' lives in order to help Suna?”

Shisui's muscles tightened and even though he wasn't reaching out for anything sharp, his gaze wandered around, desperately seeking for a solution. The man wanted to avoid a direct confrontation which was understandable in these circumstances. Right now, his team was his biggest weakness. He was certainly the type of person who'd never let his students get hurt or at least that was what everything in his behavior suggested.

In fact, it was unclear why the team had followed Shisui so far. The best guess Obito could come up with was that Shisui's students had refused to turn around and that they had yet to realize how stupidly self-assured they were.

Minato's son especially seemed like a reckless idiot who'd always dive into danger head first, and knowing Minato, he wasn't exactly good at teaching people that they had to stop acting suicidally before it was too late. In fact, looking after anyone hadn't ever been his strongest suit and the best evidence of that was the fact that he had decided to make his son into this.

There was a slight hint of curiousness in Kakashi's visible eye. He'd never turned his gaze away from Shisui either. He lifted up his hitai-ate slowly, preparing for an attack.

”That eye,” Shisui said. ”A traitor like you shouldn't have it.”

”Maybe so,” Kakashi didn't try to deny it. Why would he? Arguing against an obedient lapdog was useless. ”But from what I've heard, Konoha thinks your clan isn't worthy of this kekkei genkai either,” it was seemingly an innocent sidenote.

And yet it made Shisui's expression tighten up quite visibly. Hells, his entire team seemed uncomfortable.

”That's what I thought,” Kakashi commented dryly. ”Who knows? Maybe we'll have a few more Sharingan users working for us in a couple of years?”

”Well, before that,” Shisui said and clapped his hands together to perform an opening technique, ”we're going to have to disagree here.”

Shuriken flew through the air, several missing their mark by mere inches.

Kakashi and Obito exchanged a look as they jumped backward just in time to dodge. The attack wasn't intended to kill. It was barely even aimed, yet it took them in the direction of the hideout. Since they weren't going to engage in combat, they had a slight disadvantage. Shisui was going to get through them. It was just a matter of time.

But at this point Sasori and Deidara have had a good head start. Every second counted and apparently, that was the conclusion Shisui had come up with as well. He glanced at his team, trying to decide whether it was safe to leave them behind.

Well, that wasn't going to happen.

Shisui could've gotten past Kakashi alone. Even though Kakashi would never admit it, he already had a hard time holding Shisui back while trying to make sure that nothing would provoke the man to respond with full power.

Obito quickly leaped sidewards to the right, positioning himself between Shisui and his team.

He'd rather take the risk of facing Shisui than put Kakashi in serious danger. Obviously, the plan was far from optimal but it worked. It sounded like Shisui had stopped and Obito could picture the man's frustration so clearly it made him grin underneath his mask.

”I've never understood why Konoha keeps sending unqualified chūnin on misclassified missions,” Kakashi's voice commented. ”Or maybe I do. It's cheap.”

”Since when has Akatsuki cared about that stuff?” it was Shisui's turn to buy some time. ”Aren't you the ones who take high-rank missions for free? What's your goal anyway?”

”Peace.”

”Wow, you're so full of shit, aren't you?” Shisui blurted out.

”We're merely offering an alternative,” Kakashi didn't really answer. ”But that's beside the point. Right now, no one needs to get hurt. Neither I nor my partner is interested in harming your little pack.”

There was a long pause. Obito didn't turn around. He wanted to keep his options open and that meant keeping an eye out for Shisui's students. If they would withdraw, Shisui wouldn't have any reasons left to play nicely. He'd been pleasantly cooperative until now and it was all thanks to his team's presence.

Judging by the concerned looks on the brats' faces, Shisui gave it a genuine thought. Why wouldn't he? He'd probably refuse to give in just yet but this was one of those rare encounters where there was a legitimate chance for a retreat. Any shinobi would've considered an opportunity like that. No matter how strong you were, everything could turn out so wrong so fast. All it took was a tiny miscalculation.

Obito heard Shisui's deep breath and for a moment, things seemed pretty bright.

”Sensei, no!” Minato's brat exclaimed. ”We just can't leave Gaara to those… those monsters!”

”Naruto,” that tone sounded weirdly familiar. The girl who had just spoken had at least some situational awareness that her teammates lacked. The Uchiha kid seemed to estimate the circumstances, readying up for a fight, too.

”Why should we be afraid of some filthy traitors who don't even fight?” the boy snarled. ”C'mon, we can still save Gaara!” and with that, he launched himself forward, hands out ahead of him and ready to perform a technique. His teammates shared a glance before giving each other a nod as a sign to proceed.

_Minato's jutsu._

Obito realized the obvious just in time to dodge out of its way, and the Rasengan hit a tall rock formation instead its original target, filling the air with dust and stone chips.

Perhaps there was more than what meets the eye with that boy. At least he knew a pretty decent trick though missing the mark had sent him on his knees. The other brats picked him up pretty fast.

Obito took his chance to catch up with Kakashi and Shisui. He reached them with a couple of careful side steps.

The sand waves from the earlier attack were still swirling, settling back down slowly.

”It's been quite a while ever since the last time I saw that technique,” Kakashi commented. His tone didn't give away much but presumably, he was surprised as well. It was curious how Minato had decided to teach the technique in question to his son.

”What do you mean?” the boy did ask a lot of question.

Oh, he didn't know.

”Naruto, don't,” Shisui warned him. ”Let's get through these bastards,” he was pretty determined this time.

Perhaps enough time had been bought.

This seemed like the right moment to back off. Things would escalate pretty fast unless Kakashi and Obito made clear that they weren't willing to shed blood.

But…

There was a part in Obito that yearned to stop with the bullshit – a part that wanted to commit all kinds of horrible acts every time his gaze lingered on Minato's son for a bit too long. The kid looked exactly like his father. Even his words echoed the same sickening sentiments, the obsolete platitudes every shinobi was expected to swallow without ever questioning them.

Shisui's team had picked up the pace. Their coordinated attacks kept pushing Kakashi and Obito deeper and deeper into the mountainous area behind them. Their hands were pretty much tied since they had to stay evasive.

Shisui's focus was on Kakashi.

Meanwhile, Obito blocked and dodged whatever sorry excuses for attacks were aimed at his general direction.

”My, my, you look like that statue in Konoha,” Obito said to the blonde boy who launched at him again only to miss. ”Hey, wanna know something wicked? The Fourth was actually my partner's teacher. You should hear his stories!”

Sure, it was kind of vile to tease such a pathetic little punk but the look of angry dismay all over his face was just fucking priceless.

”Shut up, you liar!” the boy exclaimed as he dribbled and pulled himself back up quickly. He was the type to act before thinking and it made Obito feel pity for him.

What else could one expect from someone who was raised by Minato?

”You're not even trying!” the boy accused. ”Stop fooling around and fight!” he was preparing for another attack while his teammates were still hesitant. They'd be ready whenever the boy would decide to pull a stupid stunt.

One sneak peek.

That Obito could afford.

Kakashi seemed to struggle even though he was barely doing anything at all.

Obito turned his gaze back to his opponents and leaned forward, clapping his hands together to perform a seal.

A total bullshit one.

As the boy prepared for a counter attack, Obito leaned in only to pull away at the last second and stomped his foot on the ground, kicking up dust.

The bluff bought him just enough time to glance over his shoulder for the second time. It seemed that they were now nearing the target location. In fact, Obito was pretty certain that he saw a familiar figure on the horizon.

If he only could take a closer look…

”You pay for that!” Minato's brat announced. ”Sasuke, now!”

A sudden roar of flames swished through the air, burning the stone where it touched.

Ah, the good old signature jutsu of the Uchiha clan.

The roughly shaped barrier of fire forced Obito to move in the direction in which he encountered yet another member of Shisui's team. While Akatsuki had kept a close eye on every jinchūriki, some people around them had been discarded. This was the case now since Obito had no idea what to expect from her. However, his Sharingan allowed him to predict it at the last moment.

It made sense that someone on Shisui's team was specialized in genjutsu. Admittedly, the fact that the specialist wasn't the Uchiha kid was _interesting_.

The collective horror washed over Shisui’s team as they realized that the genjutsu had zero effect. But instead of freezing completely like her teammates, the girl drew out a sharp kunai out of her belt and thrust it at Obito with a tremendous speed. It was the last desperate attempt to turn the tables.

If there was one positive side effect of having a numb, artificial limb, it was that Obito could block any attack quite easily.

Though maybe getting one's right arm pierced by a sharp blade was a fail in terms of proper defense. However, it worked.

”Ouch,” Obito commented just to humor himself. The girl stared at him bemused, slowly realizing that there was no bleeding whatsoever.

Even Minato's dumbass son seemed nervous.

And it was so quiet that Obito could hear his own heartbeat.

He could feel every pair of eyes turned towards him for a mere second just before there was a sudden change in the atmosphere.

”All of you, retreat!” Shisui's voice echoed from behind and sure enough, a blink or two later bright steel flashed in the air. It flung inches from Obito's already injured arm and the only reason why it hadn't reached its target had been Shisui's last-minute rescue.

So, that was the infamous body-flicker in use.

”We didn't request for a backup,” Sasori greeted with a grim look. Perhaps his artistic pride was hurt or maybe it was his typical way of saying 'hi'. It was hard to tell.

Kakashi and Obito hadn't requested for a backup either, especially not from Sasori.

”Did you get the message?” Kakashi asked. Sasori's unrequested presence assured him to close his left eye.

He must've been drained at this point, Obito realized.

”Yes.”

Shisui's team was frozen in place, including Shisui himself. He'd probably anticipated something like this from the very beginning but now that the numbers were almost even, the odds weren't in Konoha's favor.

Clearly, Shisui acknowledged it. He kept his expression relatively neutral but his eyes filled with concern. He knew he'd miscalculated. That became pretty evident from his gaze, too. But quite honestly, his unwillingness to put his team in danger was entirely understandable and incidentally, it’d worked against him. However, a different outcome had been possible, almost probable. It all boiled down to accuracy.

”Good. We'll take over from here,” Kakashi stated.

”How are you going to import him anywhere?” Sasori's tone was suspicious.

”I have my methods and I can assure you that these are direct orders,” Kakashi even went through the trouble of taking the credit for himself. He was endearingly convincing.

Obito would thank him later.

Sasori said nothing as he motioned Deidara to come closer. The clay creature he'd crafted looked like something that would allow him to destroy just about anything.

”Leave now and we'll spare you,” Sasori promised, turning his head towards Shisui. It was still a genuine offer.

”Naruto, don't,” Shisui ordered as Minato's son stepped forward.

Of course.

Kakashi noted it too. He tilted his head slightly, looking the boy right in the eyes.

”You can't save everyone,” he pointed out, tone cold and calm. ”Before rushing to save your friend, think about the friends you brought with you.”

Deidara was pretty close now.

”What are you talking about?” the boy was pissed.

”All I'm saying is that you should care about those who aren't in danger yet,” Kakashi pointed out. ”You're going to learn it someday the hard way.”

It was true, yet that puny brat managed to ignore reality itself.

Sasori's poison blade could reach anyone's throat. Deidara was more than ready and willing to drop one of his explosives on Shisui's team, and there was no way that even someone like Shisui could rescue all of his students from something that massive. No, time and space weren't favoring him enough for that.

”You can't make anyone choose between lives!” the boy was stubborn and Obito had to bite his lip to prevent a joyless laugh from escaping from his lips.

He knew all too well that naïve idealism. Of course, it wasn't fair to choose between lives. They were supposedly all precious and unvarying in value.

Too bad that the world had a different interpretation.

Kakashi raised his eyebrows and sighed.

”Suit yourself.”

A slight breeze flowed through the air, pushing sand around the area as Deidara descended lower and lower. He was now within a few feet of them all.

Since it didn't take too much convincing for him to show off his art, he'd provide a decoy.

Nobody had made the first move.

Shisui's reputation was well known even outside Konoha. It was fierce enough to make even prideful artists like Sasori and Deidara respect him while Shisui and two-thirds of his team seemed to wait for the right moment to strike.

But.

Minato's son.

He was going to ruin everything, wasn't he?

”Gaara!”

Obito met Kakashi's gaze.

The brat launched towards Deidara who was low enough to be reached with the petrified body of the One-Tail's jinchūriki. And damn, that boy sure was fast.

Shisui tried to stop his student from making a potentially very bad decision but finally, just finally, Obito had a chance to do something. He couldn’t aim an attack right away since the earlier encounter had put some distance between him and Shisui but that gap was going to close. 

Obito just needed to adjust his positioning and wait for the right moment.

His kick barely touched Shisui's leg when the man dashed after his student. It didn't even make him to lose his balance but the brief distraction gave Deidara a chance to react.

Tiny clay creatures dropped to the ground, infesting the area.

All of them exploded, providing the much-needed cover.

Obito pulled himself away from the blast wave, swooping next to Deidara.

”Senpai, don't worry, we'll take it from here,” he promised cheerfully as Kakashi joined their company. He wrapped the jinchūriki's arm around his shoulders to lift him up. It was better not to look at the lifeless body too close.

And it almost seemed that everything went as planned.

That was until Minato's brat made his final move. He'd managed to find his way through all the sand and dust. He was probably half blind at this point.

A mere second later a blade swung through the air, aiming towards the brat– but instead of landing on the target, a small feminine figure emerged out of the dust, taking the hit for him.

Another shadowy figure emerged a millisecond too late to do anything, but just in time to witness this.

_Shit._

That was pretty much the only thing Obito could think of as he grabbed Kakashi's hand, Kamui swirling.

The only good thing about this situation was that the only one who was there to see the swirling of his kamui was the Uchiha brat whose eyes were now fixed on Sasori.

Finally, Kamui took Obito alongside Kakashi and the One-Tail's jinchūriki away.

And the last thing they could see was how the marionette covering Sasori's own puppet body was smashed into a thousand little pieces by Shisui who’d finally made his way through ash and debris.


End file.
